Kansas Aviation Museum plans Cessna exhibit

The Kansas Aviation Museum is working on the final stages of an exhibit focusing on the Cessna Aircraft Co. and its long history in Wichita. The exhibit is a way to preserve and present information on founder Clyde Cessna and the company bearing his name, museum officials said. “Our mission is to portray and present Kansas aviation history, and Wichita is a huge part of that,” said Lon Smith, Kansas Aviation Museum director.

Over time, it plans to focus on each of the major manufacturers that emerged in Wichita after the collapse of the stock market in 1929, Smith said. “Several companies emerged as the leaders,” he said. “We already have a Boeing wing.” In the next two to four years, the museum plans to focus on Beech and Learjet, and “in fairness, we’ll probably do something with Airbus,” Smith said.

Airbus opened an engineering center in Wichita nearly 10 years ago. The Cessna exhibit will be located near the museum’s atrium. It’s funded by Cessna and other donors. The museum’s collection of artifacts from the company is vast, Smith said. “We have a deep, deep bench,” he said.

A permanent collection, which will take up two walls of the exhibit, will focus on the history of the planes Cessna built. In the center, six kiosks will hold exhibits that will rotate periodically. It will feature a timeline of historic Cessna aircraft and showcase scale productions of airplanes Cessna built. On display will be a wind tunnel model of a Cessna 620. An open house and dedication of the exhibit will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 8. The event is free and open to the public. The museum is located at 3350 George Washington Blvd.

Source: http://www.kansas.com